Predator and Prey
by WingsOfMorphius
Summary: Valerie was raised to hunt. It was her destiny from the moment Vlad Masters rescued her after she was orphaned, and she's never questioned it. At least not until she met up with a playful ghost and a shy high school boy. -Discontinued-
1. Prophecies

**WoM- _I decided to go with this one after all, since I've been brooding about it longer. I Spy will come up after I finish another story._ (I think Unmasked is closest to being done, with FCA behind it then Blackbird. I've still got way too many ideas for my Gender Confusions to let them die just yet…) _And after that I'll start Duet, I think. Babbling done, I hope you enjoy this story!_**

* * *

**Calvin-** Uh-oh, here comes Moe, The class bully!

**Moe-** Okay, Twinky, let's have that ball.

**Calvin-** Sure, Moe. All yours. _(After Moe leaves)_ Never argue with a six-year-old who shaves.

_(**Calvin and Hobbes**, by Bill Watterson)_

* * *

**Prophecies**

Valerie made no sound as she urged her jet sled forward, her eyes fixed solely on her target. The ghost, on the other hand, panted in exhaustion, working to try and stay ahead of her.

His efforts were futile.

_'Blam!'_ The girl smirked under her mask as the ghost went down, ghost-proof restraints around his mouth, upper torso and ankles keeping him from moving. Stopping her jet sled, Valerie jumped down and walked forward, hitting a button on the side of her helmet.

"Valerie to Base," She said in a loud, clear voice, "Ghost 480241 captured. I repeat, the ghost known as Bertrand had been captured." There was a long pause.

_"Excellent work, Valerie,"_ A familiar but unexpected voice came back to her, making the girl blush and smile slightly. _"Though I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less from my best Paranormal Hunter,"_

"Thank you, Mr. Masters," Valerie said warmly, happy at the praise from her guardian.

_"We'll send a collection team to pick him up," _Vlad Masters continued, _"Wait for us until we come there, will you?"_

"Yes sir," Valerie answered, "Valerie standing by," 

"So, you're working for HIM, are you?" The ghost, who'd managed to free himself of the mouth restraint, sneered at her, "You're that Dalv Dog that has half the Ghost Zone up in arms?"

"Shut your mouth, ghost," Valerie snapped back, glaring at him, "Another word and you'll be unconscious when the collection team gets here."

"I think I might prefer that," Bertrand muttered darkly. Valerie would've rolled her eyes, but she knew the dangers of taking her sight off of a ghost. In her line of work, that was just begging to be blasted into the next millennia. (and probably further if the ghost was strong enough.)

"What does Mr. Masters want with you, anyways?" Valerie asked, "I mean, you're no where near strong enough to be a threat. An annoyance yeah, but a threat? Not likely."

"Hey!" Bertrand said, sounding insulted. "Just because we're dead doesn't mean you can hurt a ghost's feelings too, you know!" Valerie only snorted disdainfully still not looking away from him.

"Like I even care," She said coldly. Bertrand huffed.

"Then I guess you don't care about the information Your boss wants from me," He said secretively.

"Not if it means degrading myself in front of a ghost like you to get it," Valerie told him bluntly. Out of all the paranormal creatures she hunted, she had the strongest distaste for Ghosts.

After all, it was a ghost that murdered her father when she was just a little kid, leaving her to grow up orphaned and alone at six if it wasn't for the intervention of Valerie's guardian, savior and idol, Vlad Masters of the infamous Vlad Co.

The girl still didn't remember the attack too well, which Mr. Masters attributed to a sence of shock over her loss, her body's way of protecting her from the pain that memory would bring.

But she did, however, remember crying helplessly over her father's broken and bloody body, and if she strained herself, haunting evil red eyes came to mind, glowing at her tauntingly and full of a sadistic glee…

The ghost hunter couldn't prevent the involuntary shudder, which she immediately blamed on the brisk wind.

"So you don't like ghosts, huh?" Bertrand said, with a gleam in his eyes, "Now isn't THAT interesting…"

"I know you and your partner play mind games," Valerie snapped, "And I'm not gonna fall for them. So I'm only gonna say this one more time; Keep your mouth shut!"

That (Combined with the fact that Valerie's fists was glowing as she activated her supersuit's advanced ghost hunting technology) silenced the ghost, so Valerie allowed herself to calm down. She didn't relax, though, she was always tense on the job, especially against ghosts who were notoriously dirty fighters.

Which was proven moments later when all movement stopped, as if frozen in place by an unseen force.

Stiffening, Valerie felt her heart pound in her chest. Anger and suspicion consuming her, she wheeled around to face her captive.

"What did you-?" She broke off when she realized he was just as frozen as everything else.

"He didn't," A voice said softly, making Valerie jump. "I did,"

Turning, Valerie felt her eyes narrow as she faced down this new, (and clearly powerful if he could freeze time) threat. She glanced at her detector, which was silent despite the fact that the creature in front of her was clearly a ghost. He made no effort to hide his sickly pale skin and spectral trail, and he announced his entrance himself so he wasn't trying to sneak up on her…

"Who are you?" Valerie demanded. "Why are you here? Answer me!"

"Forgive me," The ghost said, speaking with an eloquence that reminded the girl of her guardian. "I am Clockwork, the Ghost who is Master of All Time. Rest assured young Valerie I am not here to do you any harm,"

"Oh, yeah?" Valerie snorted. "And why should I believe you, ghost?"

"Because I've nothing to gain from hurting you, and much to lose," Clockwork answered.

"I don't work for ghosts," Valerie said coldly, "Ghosts like you are nothing but trouble, and I don't trust a single one of you!"

"Ah, that's a rather crude generalization, my dear," Clockwork said, unfazed by the ice in the girl's tone, and the heated glare she was now throwing him. "Among the humans there are the cruel and the kind, who's to say ghosts are not the same?"

"Ghosts aren't humans," Valerie reminded him.

"But they were," Clockwork countered with a secretive smile. "This is not the topic I came to discuss with you, though. I am here on a much more specific mission,"

"Oh?" Valerie said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, "And what kind of 'mission' is this?"

"A warning," Clockwork said simply, "I came here to tell you that you will be the one to defeat the ghost known as Danny Phantom, but only at a great personal cost. You will lose something you need badly right now, even though you do not acknowledge it yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Valerie asked, "Who's Danny Phantom?"

"The ghost your guardian looks so desperately for," Clockwork answered, "The one he'd give all his fortunes to possess," Valerie's eyes widened. This Danny Phantom was the character who Mr. Masters was running around in circles trying to get? And she'd be the one to catch him?

"News flash, ghost," Valerie laughed, "Warnings are supposed to carry bad news. I don't care what I have to give up, it would be worth it to make Mr. Master's proud! I'd give my life to pay Mr. Masters back for everything he's done for me!"

"Perhaps that is what he's counting on." Clockwork said in an even tone. Valerie scowled at him.

"I don't fall for tricks," She said coolly, "And you're not going to get me to betray the one man in this world I trust."

"I have no intentions of doing so," Clockwork responded, unfazed by her cold attitude. "After all, your choices, your actions, are all your own, Valerie. I'm just trying to steer you to a path where your regrets will weigh less on your conscious."

"Well don't!" Valerie said, "I can take care of myself just fine! I don't do regrets!" She didn't, either. Valerie had a strong philosophy of learning from the past and moving on, never apologizing for who she was or what she'd done. Apologies were cheap in her world, actions were what she based all of her opinions on.

"If that is how you honestly feel," Clockwork sighed, "then I supposed we're done here. All I can tell you now is to keep your mythology in mind,"

"My mythology?" Valerie repeated, bewildered.

"Particularly the myth of the Goddess Artemis and her love for Orion," Clockwork instructed with a nod. Valerie huffed in annoyance.

"Look, pal-!" She started.

"Farewell, Valerie," Clockwork cut in, a bright light blinding the ghost hunter and forcing her to shield her eyes, "For now…"

When the light cleared Clockwork was gone, and time had started right back up where it'd left off.

'That was weird…' Valerie mused. Shifting her weight, she felt something tap against her chest. Looking down, she saw that she had a medallion hanging around her neck, with the insignia CW gleaming in the center…

* * *

"How's everything getting set up, Danny?" a warm voice behind the boy asked.

Immediately going on guard, the Danny turned and gave the woman an unreadable look. He had to be careful not to show any emotion, not to get attached, since he'd be gone again before long anyways…

"Fine," He answered airily.

"I'm glad," The woman, who was named Jolene Summers but preferred to be called Jo, smiled at Danny unfazed by his attitude.

Then again, this woman was supposed to be the best when it came to 'troubled teens.' She was the one all the screw ups no one else wanted got sent to, and boy did Danny ever fall into that category…

"Down the hall is the electronics room, where we have a computer and some video games Dash and Lenny picked out. But you're only allowed in one weekends or when you have to use the computer for school projects, and the weekends are only if you have less then five marks against you. It's locked at all times, and I'm the only person with a key and as I'm sure Lenny will tell you, it's hard to take it away,"

_'Maybe for a human,'_ Danny thought, not bothered by the rule. Locks didn't matter to him. He could get into any room anytime he wanted with his powers, and he knew he may have to eventually.

"Dash and Lenny will stay in this room with you, and the girl's room is four doors down," Jo continued, "That's where Morgan and Trish are staying. Bathroom's to the right and storage room is after that. My room is upstairs and the kitchen and den are both on the main level. We've got exercise equipment in the basement, too. Mrs. Jordan mentioned you like to work out…"

Danny smiled dryly at the hesitation in the woman's voice as she mentioned this. His baggy blue jeans and red and white T-shirt hid the fruits of his long, strenuous work out sessions well, as Danny preferred it to. He'd never been much of a people person, even before the accident, and after…

The boy pushed those thoughts absently from his head.

"Any questions?" Jo asked.

"Nope," Danny responded, "I think I've got it,"

"Good," Jo said, "School let's out in an hour, so you'll meet the other kids then. You'll start going too, but only tomorrow after you get settled in."

'Joy…' Danny thought bitterly.

"Dinner's at seven every day, and lights out is ten. I catch you snaking in or out and your dead, you hear me?" As sternly as she said this last part, it was obvious that Jo had heard about his complete and utter disregard of any and all curfews known to man.

"Got it," Danny said, sighing, "Can I unpack now?"

"Sure thing," Jo said, heading for the door, "Oh, and we're really glad to have you here, Danny. Our foster home welcomes everyone with open arms," Danny grunted, not meeting Jo's eyes. As soon as the door shut behind her, the boy dived for his cell phone, dialing out a familiar number.

_"Henderson Law Office, this is Jazz Fenton speaking,"_

"Jazz, It's me," Danny said quietly, not saying his name. Jazz was silent for a moment.

_"Hey,"_ She said in a gentle, quiet tone, _"How are… things?"_ Danny smiled wryly.

"I'm surviving," He told her with a sigh, "But he's still after me. He nearly found me last time, so I had to switch out Foster Homes again."

_"You're never going to fit in if you don't find a permanent residence,"_ Jazz told him disapprovingly_, "Everyone needs a constant in their life."_

"Yeah," Danny agreed, "You're mine," The boy could almost feel his sister's smile and blush. "Anyways, I just wanted you to know I was still alive." Danny wanted to talk to his sister more, but feared having his call traced back to him. He knew Vlad Masters had the money, power and resources to tap any line he pleased, after all.

_"Got it,"_ Jazz said, obviously taking the hint, _"Stay safe,"_

"You know it," Danny responded, hanging up.

Sighing, the boy absently put his hand straight through the wall, hiding the phone on a support beam for the house. Cell phones, he knew, were strictly forbidden, and it wasn't like anyone else would find it hidden like this. After all, no one else in the house COULD put their fist through a wall without it showing.

But Danny Fenton was far from a normal teen. Hanging out with his friends in his parent's lab, he'd been in an accident with one of their experiments that left him with the supernatural powers of a ghost, and the alias of Danny Phantom.

His friends had been delighted straight from the start, convincing Danny to keep his new powers secret from his parents and use them to fight off the ghosts that plagued their city. Danny had been less then enthused at first, but agreed after a while. Soon his whole life and quite a bit of his friends were consumed by ghost hunting and the effects that came with it.

Then the city found out.

That was a pretty low point for Danny, who though he'd lost all hope when those he protected turned against him, but once again he pulled through with his friend's help. Through sheer hard work and ingenuity, he even managed to convince a small amount of the public (Most of them teenagers from his own school) that he was a good guy, not the evil ghosts the city officials had made him out to be while they were overshadowed.

Things started looking up then, and Danny actually grew to enjoy his life. At least until an accident sent him and his friends to the hospital, where the doctors found out about his new genetic make up and questioned his parents about it. It hadn't taken long for them to sort out the truth, and their rage at being deceived by their own son…

Danny sighed, trying to dispel the thoughts of his parents, and his friends who were both still in comas the last he heard. Sam was likely to pull through in time, but Tucker… things weren't looking too bright for the Tech-geek, from what Jazz had told him over their minute long phone conversations at random intervals.

Still, Danny had made a promise to himself a long time ago, a promise to everyone he ever loved. A promise he would keep no matter what happened…

Danny's head jerked up as he felt a familiar chill, not unlike that of his ghost sence. This one, however, was everywhere at once, which could only mean one thing for the young half ghost…

"Hello, Clockwork,"

Turning, the boy crossing his arms as he fixed the ghost with a _pointed 'what-the-heck-are-you-doing-here?'_ look. Clockwork smiled back wryly.

"Danny," He acknowledged. "I trust you're settling in fine?"

"You're not here about my new home, Clockwork," Danny sighed, "No stalling thins this time around."

"Very well," Clockwork nodded, "There is merely something I wish to warn out about." Intrigued, Danny leaned in closer to listen to the ghost's words, knowing that they could potentially save his life… or afterlife, whatever you wanted to call what he was living now.

"There is a threat on your life, Danny," Clockwork warned, "Plasmius will send an agent to try and capture you,"

"How's that news?" Danny asked.

"Because if you allow her to, this one will succeed," Clockwork sighed.

"Then I won't let her," Danny said simply, "She's not the first ghost to face me,"

"She's not a ghost, Danny," Clockwork said, shaking his head, "She is a human, and she is the only opponent you will ever succumb to, if you even for a moment choose to fight her with less then your all,"

"What makes her so different?" Danny asked. His parents had been hunting ghosts since before he was born, and they certainly never posed too much of a threat to his ghost half.

"You will know in time," Clockwork answered, "For now, you may wish to finish unpacking. You'll be here longer then you suspect…" And without further warning, Clockwork disappeared and time started up again.

Danny sighed and shook his head, turning back to finish unpacking.

_'Well that was ominous…' _He thought dryly, not too bothered by what had just occurred.

After all, Danny Phantom had seen much weirder.

* * *

**WoM- _I don't think you see too many AU D/V stories, though there's a million AU D/S ones. Once again a plotline with much potential that people just won't give a chance… _'sighs mournfully.' _I'm probably ticking people off with my refusal of picking a pairing and sticking with it, but the way I see it, why choose just one when there's so much fun to be had? _'giggles madly,'**

* * *

**Next update; **_February 5th_

_**See you then!**_

* * *


	2. Setting the Board

**WoM- _I'M NOT ALONE! _'huggles everyone who agreed with her on the whole shipping thing,' _Really, the whole 'shipper' argument drives me nuts! What are we, fans or postal workers?_ 'shakes head,' _Nothing against hard core obsessees, though. I mean, we've all got that one thing we go kooky over. If that's yours, I can respect that completely. Just don't try and force it upon me, or get mad because I don't agree._**

* * *

**Calvin- **Dad, how do people make babies?

**Dad-** Most people just go to Sears, buy the kit and follow the assembly instructions.

**Calvin-** **I CAME FROM_ SEARS?_**

**Dad-** No, **_you_** were a Blue Light Special at K Mart. Almost as good, and a lot cheaper.

**Calvin- _AAUUGHHH!_**

**Mom-** _(Off panel)_ **_Dear, what are you telling Calvin now?_**

_(**Calvin and Hobbes**, by Bill Watterson)_

* * *

**Setting the Board**

"You're a real brat. You know that, right?" Valerie frowned and turned to meet the amused eyes of one of her fellow hunters after she'd shut her locker.

"Lay off, Syrah," She said, crossing her arms. "I'm just doing my job,"

"Yeah well, your job description must've been different then mine," Syrah responded, stretching before standing up. Valerie found herself envying the long, shapely legs that seemed to go on forever.

Despite the fact that Syrah Williams was two years older then Valerie and the fact that Valerie had five years more experience as a Hunter, she and the other girl were close.

Syrah was a very beautiful girl, with a model for a mother and a famous actor for a father. Still, though the family had been very attractive physically, emotionally they were a wreck. This stemmed from the fact that Syrah's father was turned into a vampire when she was five.

For eight years the family struggled with keeping the actor's secret, and Syrah's father struggled with the bloodlust that came with his transformation. Tragically, though, his struggle ended with him killing his wife and Syrah's younger brother. He would've killed Syrah, too, if she hadn't gotten him first.

The whole mess was hastily covered up by those who knew of the supernatural world, and Syrah was thrusted into Vlad's custody. Unlike Valerie, Syrah didn't get along with their guardian. Quite the opposite, the Leader of the Vampire Hunters and the Head of Vlad Co. always seemed to be clashing.

"That's cause you've got the easy job," Valerie said, smirking. Syrah rolled her eyes.

"Right, because anybody can kill a creature that can move faster then light and hypnotize anyone who looks into their eyes." Syrah said dryly.

"Better then fighting something that can't die and who's powers vary between them," Valerie responded, "I even met a time-stopper today,"

"That must've been fun," Syrah said with a grin.

"I didn't have to fight him." Valerie sighed. "But he gave me some weird message and a medallion. I included it all in my report and gave Mr. Masters the recording of the conversation."

"Describe 'weird,'" Syrah said.

"Worse then the time Brent asked you to the movies."

"Yikes," Syrah flinched. "That IS bad… wanna tell me about it over a snack with Chelsea and Denni?"

"Actually, I wanted to get to the gym and do some training," Valerie responded.

"Shocking," Syrah said, rolling her eyes. "Why does it not surprise me that you'd rather beat up narcissistic male newbies then hang out with the gals?"

"It could have something to do with 'the gals' hating my guts," Valerie said dryly with a pointed look at her friend.

"They don't hate you," Syrah said, "…They just really like disliking you. I'm sure there's a difference somewhere."

"Mm-hm…" Valerie rolled her eyes, "Thanks for the invite, but I'm definitely going with the gym option." Syrah shrugged.

"Suit yourself," She said, "Have fun slaughtering egotistical testosterone-filled jerks who don't know any better," Valerie shoot her head as the older girl walked away.

"And people actually wonder why she has trouble getting dates on the weekends…" She said dryly to herself as she walked towards the gym, smirking at some of the looks she got.

Although not up to the same model proportions as Syrah, Valerie knew for a fact that on a scale of one-to-ten, most men in Vlad's company rated her a solid twelve, and it was something she took pride in. After all, she'd worked hard to stay in shape and it was nice to know that it had other benefits then just keeping her alive against the forces of the undead.

Not that the guys ever got the courage to do more then look, though some of the bolder ones would hit on her in the mess hall. Still, several things kept men from ever attempting to get too serious with her, the biggest of which included the fact that she could break their necks before they could blink and that she was widely considered Vlad's 'favorite.'

_'Cowards'_ She snorted disdainfully in her head. The ghost hunter had little respect for those who would not step up when they wanted something. The way she saw it, if that was the attitude they coped, then they deserved exactly what they got; Nothing.

Some of the brave and/or stupid newbies did like to make lewd comments to her and to several other Hunter Girls, but Valerie and a lot of her fellow female hunters (Syrah among them) quickly knocked these men down to their own level and left them to lick their wounds.

Such was made obvious by the path that was cleared for her as soon as she entered the gym, leaving the girl to go where ever she pleased. No one said anything to the girl as she walked towards the battle simulation machines, save a murmured, 'Good Afternoon, Miss Grey,' here and there.

_'I repeat; Cowards,'_ Valerie rolled her eyes. Really, was a guy with a backbone and the skill to back it up that rare now a days…?

* * *

"Okay everyone, this is Danny and he's gonna be staying here from now on," Jo told the four kids in front of her. "Danny, these are Dash, Morgan, Trish and Lenny," Danny frowned at the kids, studying them carefully to deem whether or not they'd be a threat.

Dash was a hulking boy, about three times Danny's size and all muscle. His letterman jacket suggested he played a sport, probably either football or wrestling considering his size. Danny was leaning more towards football, though, judging by the way he carried himself. His blue eyes had a rather mean look to them, but he didn't appear to be that intelligent. All in all, Danny had seen worse.

Morgan was a rather bored looking pale girl dressed almost completely in black leather and lace, with short spiky fire truck red hair and at least ten piercings that the half ghost could see. Like Dash, the girl was about his age, maybe a little older. Unlike him, though, she seemed to be fairly competent, if the fact that she was holding a book proclaiming _The Complete Works Of Homer_ in gold across the dark blue cover.

_'I'd like to see how those two react to being locked in a room together for a long time,'_ Danny thought in dry amusement.

Trish was much milder compared to Morgan. A smaller girl with long, straight brunette hair and wide green eyes behind glasses, she seemed like the quiet type. Her clothes were plain, a gray hoodie and loose blue jeans with faded shoe peeking out from under the tattered hemming. She seemed to be off in her own little world though, and wouldn't meet Danny's eyes. Still, looking at her he was oddly reminded of Ghostwriter…

Lenny was a much smaller boy, around twelve or thirteen. He was glaring at Danny in sullen defiance and wary distrust, and the older boy didn't muss the way his hand would twitch involuntarily every now and then, which Danny suspected right away to mean he was a thief of some sort before he'd been shoved into a foster home. Probably a runaway, too.

All and all, Danny didn't have any major problems with this lot. So long as Lenny kept out of his stuff, Dash didn't bother him and Morgan and Trish stayed away, there shouldn't be any issues.

"So you're the new kid, huh?" Morgan said, after Jo had left, glancing Danny over. "Where you from?"

"Here and there," Danny answered. He wasn't about to tell this group about the small hometown he hailed from. Amity Park was miles from where he'd grown up, but word traveled fast now a days, especially when in the form of some of his stories…

"What's your last name?" Lenny asked.

"I don't have one," Danny replied shortly.

"Keh… You look like a wimp!" Dash sneered. Danny merely shrugged.

"What did you do, Anyways?" Morgan asked. "To get in here, I mean?"

"Skipped curfew," Danny answered honestly enough. They didn't need to know all the reasons he was sent to Jo's foster home, after all…

"That's it?" Lenny said, sounding disappointed. "Man, what a loser!"

"I'm a cutter," Morgan said, sounding proud of this fact. "And Lenny's a Klepto Dash is a bully and Trish is just plain psycho." Danny glanced over at Trish again after Morgan said this and found that she still wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

"Any reason you guys wanna tell me this?" Danny asked, directing the question aft Morgan who seemed to like talking more then the others did.

"Just thought I'd give you fair warning," Morgan responded with a wide grin. Danny rolled his eyes.

"Look, Jo mentioned something about exercise equipment…?" Danny asked. Dash laughed cruelly.

"YOU exercise?" He asked with a sneer. Morgan rolled her eyes.

"Show him, Trish," She ordered the smaller girl, "I've got a killer test tomorrow thanks to Lancer…" Morgan made a face before heading upstairs, Dash and Lenny at her heels.

Danny turned to the last remaining orphan, who still wouldn't meet his eyes even as she led him to the doors to the basement. The half ghost frowned suspiciously as he followed her, wondering what had made Morgan proclaim the girl was crazy.

It was obvious that the pale assertive girl was in charge of everything that went on in the house. Danny had no doubts that both Dash and Lenny were scared of her, which most normal guys probably would be.

_'Then again, I haven't been normal in a while,' _Danny thought wryly.

"Here," Trish said quietly. "This is where they keep the equipment. You can use it whenever you want," And with that, the girl turned to leave.

It was then that Danny saw the flash of blue that made his hand shoot out to grab the girl's arm. Ignoring her very vocal gasp of shock, the boy studied the mark on the back of her neck, the deep blue circle with blue 'flames' on either side.

"Demons," Danny said, making a face. It didn't surprise him, though. Amity Park was one of the top ten epicenters of Spiritual and Magical forces, one of the reasons he'd chosen to move to the location. It was harder for people to pin point him in such a mass of power.

He hadn't meant to make the observation out loud, and didn't realize his mistake until Trish stiffened in his grasp, finally meeting his eyes with her own wide, stunned look.

"What?" She said, so quietly Danny almost didn't catch it.

"Nothing," The half ghost said, "Never mind. I was just thinking." And with that, Danny walked away towards the punching bag hanging from the ceiling, starting to pound at in a steady rhythm of kicks and punches.

Instead of leaving, Trish followed him, hovering close to the weight machine and watching carefully as Danny worked out, as if expecting him to suddenly blow up the punching bag completely.

_'Don't hold your breath,'_ Danny thought mildly, 'I save the ecto-blasts for foes who fight back,'

"You know them, don't you," Trish asked after a good two hours of silence, her voice a little shaky, "You know about the things that put this on me. The ones that killed my mom," Danny frowned.

That explained a lot. This girl's family must've been murdered by demons, and she was marked as someone's 'property,' a human life force for a powerful demon to feed off of.

He didn't know too much about demons, ghosts were his field of expertise, but he did know the girl was in danger of dying before she hit twenty if she didn't find a way to cast the mark off, whether by the death of the demon that marked her or just having a stronger will then him.

After considering things for a while, he decided he could be a little more honest with this girl. After all, she must've tried to tell someone the truth if she was considered crazy, and such a mocking blow would keep her from trying anything of the sort again.

"No," Danny grunted as he hit the bag, "I don't. But I've met others like them, and I know they exist."

"Are you…" Trish swallowed, "Did they kill your family, too?" Danny frowned, stopping to let the bag swing to a rest.

"No," He answered quietly, "My family killed me,"

And, before the girl could ask him to elaborate, Danny left, going invisible as soon as he knew no one was around to see…

* * *

"You can't be serious," Skulker scowled at the man in front of him, who didn't look at all fazed at his temper.

"You heard Clockwork's prophecy," Vlad Masters responded airily, "You expect me to allow this opportunity to pass me by?" This clearly was not the answer Skulker was looking for.

"I've been hunting that boy for nearly a year now with no success, you expect me to believe one of your second rate HUMAN hunters can capture a prey that has eluded me? Skulker, the greatest-!"

"I know your pedigree," Vlad cut the ghost off. "And Valerie is far from second rate. She's been personally trained by me and provided with the best weapons and equipment money can buy. What's more, she's also fairly competent compared to most girls her age, if a little too trusting of the human race."

"She's still only human," Skulker growled, "Take all that away and your precious hunter girl is nothing! Besides, when she finds out what you've done…"

"Perhaps," Vlad shrugged, "Hopefully, I'll be able to dispose of her before it comes to that if it ever does, but for now I have use of her talents." Vlad glanced up as his three vultures flew into the room through the wall, "Ah, there you are. Well?"

"He cut the call off before we got the exact location," One of them admitted, "But we did manage to narrow it down to the city he's in,"

"And…?" Vlad pressed, annoyed.

"Amity Park," Vlad sighed, a mixture of annoyance and admiration passing over his face.

"Clever," He admitted, "It will be difficult to find him in a city that size, with that much power in it…" Deep in though, Vlad waved his workers away, "That's all. And Skulker? Disobey my orders and you will face the consequences…" Skulker scowled but said nothing as he disappeared with the vultures.

Vlad sighed. While the help his ghosts provided him with was less expensive and more useful, it also meant putting up with their odd quirks and habits, which included Skulker's desire to kill anything rare and hang it's skin on his wall and the odd personalities and old fashion views of the vultures.

"Gloria," He said into a microphone on his desk, deciding to get back to the matter at hand, can you call Valerie in? I have a special mission I want to discuss with her…"

_"Right away, Mr. Masters."_ His secretary responded. Vlad smirked as he flipped the switch to turn the mike off.

_'We'll see who comes out victorious this time, Daniel…'_ He thought to himself with a light chuckle.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Masters?" Valerie asked, standing at attention.

She was a little disappointed to be called away from her fight, but her eagerness to help her guardian surpassed that desire to beat the new jerk who felt her up into a bloody non-breathing pulp.

"Yes, Valerie, I have a very important job for you," Vlad said as he stood. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the ghost called Danny Phantom?"

"Only from that ghost I met today," Valerie admitted. While she could name off every ghost in her territory and list their age, ID numbers, powers and threat levels, she never read up too much on ghosts in other hunter's precincts.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard of Pariah Dark, have you not?" Valerie's eyes widened.

"Yes, sir," She said. What ghost hunter hadn't heard of the infamous all powerful King of Ghosts?

"Danny Phantom is the ghost that resealed Pariah when he was freed from his sarcophagus by means we have yet to fully comprehend." Vlad said smoothly. "Despite the fact that he's been a ghost for less then a year now," Valerie gasped.

"H-he can do that when he's still that new?" Valerie asked.

"Surprising, isn't it?" Vlad asked, "Which is why I want you to capture him."

"Me?" Valerie repeated, smiling and blushing slightly, "You really think I can beat him, Sir?"

"Of course!" Vlad said with a wide grin, "You're the best hunter I've ever seen, Valerie, and I know you'll do a fantastic job. You have my full and complete confidence," Valerie's blush darkened.

"I-I don't know what to say…" she said shyly, before her face hardened into a determined look and she saluted her guardian, "I won't let you down, sir!"

"No," Vlad said, a strange look passing over his face, "I don't expect you will…" Then he smiled widely again, "At any rate, Phantom's a wandering ghost, and he was last spotted in the city of Amity Park. I'll send you there tonight, and enroll you into a local high school so you can better gather information. You won't start attending until next Monday, though, which gives you time to settle in."

"I understand, sir," Valerie said, "I'll do my best to make you proud." And, with one final salute, Valerie left.

Vlad's mouth curled into a predatory grin as he watched the door close behind her.

_'Too easy…'_

* * *

**WoM- _If you haven't figured it out by now, Vlad's a major baddie in this one. It'll probably get a little darker then my other stories, do, too, so be warned. Now, with nothing further to say, I bid you a fond adieu!_**

* * *

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* * *

**Next update;** _February 12th_

_**See you then!**_

* * *

ATTENTION!

****

As I'm sure most of you are already aware, Nick is threatening to cancel Danny Phantom after just three seasons.

****

Naturally, I'm one of the people fighting to keep Danny Phantom running, so I beg you to send in letters with my own to the following address;

Cyma Zharghami or **Marjorie Cohn **

Nickelodeon

or 

1515 Broadway

New York, New York

10036

USA

Attention: Programming.

And to sign the petitions I have posted on my profile won't let me up the link here.)

****

And don't forget to spread the word! With your help, we can save Danny!


	3. First Impressions

**WoM- _Computers are really starting to piss me off lately. None of them seem to work when I need them to anymore. Anywho, this chapter was really hard to get out on time. Please be nice!_**

* * *

**Hobbes-** Do you have an idea for your story yet?

**Calvin-** No, I'm waiting for inspiration. You can't just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood.

**Hobbes-** What mood is that?

**Calvin-** Last-Minute Panic.

_(**Calvin and Hobbes**, by Bill Watterson)_

**WoM_- I hear ya, Calvin!)_**

* * *

**First Impressions**

"Are you Valerie?"

The ghost hunter frowned, not entirely sure if she liked the tone her roommate, Vlad's main agent in Amity, Terrance Phillips, used when addressing her. And she knew for a fact that she didn't like that look in his eyes.

"And if I am?" Valerie challenged with a glare. Terrance snorted in response. Valerie scowled, studying the hunter curiously.

Despite being older then Valerie (Around 22, if the girl had to wager a guess.) Terrance was of a lower ranking then her, which was probably part of the reason why the boy was so bitter. He was very handsome, with high cheekbones and the iciest blue eyes imaginable, almost white in color, which really contradicted his perfect, dark golden tan.

He was dressed in street clothes instead of the personalized form-fitting suits all the hunters were required to wear on the hunt. It was a simple outfit, though. Loose blue jeans, black shirt and white tennis shoes. His brown hair had been pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, which trailed down his back.

Despite his attractiveness, though, Valerie could already tell she didn't like the boy. He was arrogant, rude and cold, three personality traits the girl could never force herself to stand.

"Can we just go?" Terrance asked, sounding annoyed. Valerie glared at him and followed as he led her through the crowd, not helping with her bags at all. Not that she needed it, but the gesture would've been appreciated.

Terrance led her to a small black convertible, and after Valerie put her things in the back of the car the two of them buckled in and the boy took off, a little faster then Valerie was comfortable with.

"So you're the pet everyone keeps talking about, huh?" Terrance said to Valerie over the wind.

"Excuse me?" Valerie asked, glaring at him the best she could with her long black hair whipping around her face.

"The one Mr. Masters favors so much," Terrance explained. "I expected something a little more impressive…"

_'You don't want to hit him right now,'_ Valerie told herself, gritting her teeth, _'That's a really good way to end up in a tree at the speed the maniac's driving.'_

"And how am I supposed to look?" Valerie asked coldly.

"Thinner, for one," Terrance responded.

_'Oh he did **not** just-!'_ Before Valerie could forget her personal warning and attack the boy for his sinful remark, a loud beeping came from where the radio should've been.

_"We've got trouble, Terrance,"_ A female voice came on as a pretty young girl dressed in green and white Hazmat came on, frowning at them from the monitor. _"There's an attack on the bank downtown. Two of em, both ghosts,"_

"Identification?" Terrance asked, and even Valerie came out of her sulking enough to listen in on this.

_"Well, one's a local ghost,"_ The girl said, sighing slightly, _"Goes by the name of Ember?"_ Terrance made a face as a picture of a female ghost around sixteen or so popped up on the screen.

She had a very 'punk' look to her, lots of dark makeup and clothing contradicting her sickly pale skin. Her hair was a vivid shade of blue, kept back in a ponytail that had the same fluid movements of fire, meaning she was aptly named. Two blue strands of bangs framed her face, where her green eyes glowered back at Valerie defiantly, as if challenging the girl.

Luckily, Valerie had never been one to back down from a challenge…

"Figures…" Terrance said dryly, breaking the younger ghost hunter from her thoughts. "And the other one?"

_"Never seen him before."_ The girl answered. _"Ember seems to know him, though, so I figure he's just new to town, not an actual newbie. Especially with how he fights… He's already detained Laura and Zack without taking his eyes off Ember."_

"Are they allies?" Terrance asked.

_"I'm pretty sure the answer's no, if the name calling means anything." _The girl said dryly, _"Not to mention the fact that they're both trying to blast each other's heads off."_

"What's it look like?" Terrance asked.

_"Young, around fourteen or fifteen, male, and very cute. Really nice butt…"_

"Tara," Terrance said warningly.

_"Hey, just because I've gotta hunt the guy doesn't mean I can't look!" _Tara said with a pointed smirk. _"Anyways, it gets weird from here on out. His skin tone's different then most ghosts. Instead of being blue or green, he just looks like a regular human with white hair and green eyes."_

_'White hair and green eyes?' _Valerie thought, alert.

"Is he wearing black hazmat?" She asked eagerly, earning an annoyed look from Terrance.

_"Huh?"_ Tara said, looking a little surprised. Apparently, she hadn't noticed Valerie was even in the car until she'd spoken up. _"Uh, who are you?"_

"That doesn't matter now!" Valerie sighed in exasperation. "Is he wearing a black hazmat suit with a white symbol on his chest, a P-in-a-D?"

_"Yeah,"_ Tara nodded, _"Hang on, there's a picture here that Laura snapped before he got her. Why? He from your turf or something?"_ Valerie and Terrance both watched curiously as a new picture came on to the screen, this one an admittedly handsome male ghost with a playful glint in his eyes and a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

Valerie felt a charge looking at him, the same excited feeling she got every time her prey came into sight.

_'Not much longer now, ghost-boy,'_ She thought, smirking, _'Your days are numbered now that I'm on your tail…'_

"That's him," Valerie confirmed to Terrance before answering Tara's question, "No, but I was sent here to catch him,"

"You honestly expect me to believe that Phantom is the ghost of some skinny little high school kid?" Terrance asked skeptically.

"Never take a ghost at face value, pal," Valerie responded, "That's the first rule of hunting."

_"Well, are you coming down here to back me up or what?"_ Tara asked in an irritated tone. _"I can't hold these guys off forever on my own!"_

"I'll be there in two minutes," Valerie promised the girl. That answer seemed to satisfy her, as she turned her communication link off after that.

"Two minutes?" Terrance scowled, "It's a fifteen minute drive there, even without speed limits, traffic and pedestrians!"

"Maybe for you," Valerie challenged.

She didn't use her bioorganic suit any more often then necessary. It was ghost-crafted, and she preferred not to put faith into technology created by the very creatures she hunted. Still the suit was a part of her that couldn't be removed, and Valerie wasn't gonna complain about that in times like these.

Triggering the transformation, Valerie was engulfed in vivid pink energy, and when it faded she was wearing the second ghost hunting suit she'd ever received. The design for this one was much darker then her original red hunting suit, but the weapons were all controlled telekinetically, and she could even engage in hand-to-hand combat with a ghost while wearing it.

Ignoring the gaping Terrance, Valerie unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out of the moving Car, activating her jet sled mid leap so she could take off and leave the other ghost hunter eating her dust.

* * *

"You can stop following me, you know," Danny called out, a little annoyed. Turning away from his meal, he frowned at the girl only a few tables away, who blushed back and looked down at her feet. Danny sighed.

This hadn't been the best first week for him. First of all, Dash Baxter was in all his classes, which was bad enough on it's own. His teachers all seemed to hate him on sight, since his GPA (While not failing) was far from perfect. Add to this the fact that he made himself look like an idiot in front of the prettiest girl in school and that his nervousness had awakened a new power (Ice breath. A lot like Klemper's actually…), and you got one very stressed half ghost.

"S-Sorry," Trish said, standing and coming over to sit in the booth across from Danny, "I… I just…"

"You were hoping I'd know more about the demons that killed your family?" Danny guessed, his look softening.

"I want to know more about you," Trish admitted, "you aren't like other people, are you?"

Danny didn't say anything out loud to that remark, staring into his soda and thinking back to everything he'd been through, all the people he'd met and the pain he'd been through…

_"What happened?" He asked groggily as he tried to steady himself, looking into the pale faces of his two best friends, Sam and Tucker._

_"Oh my God, Danny," Sam said in a shaken voice, "I'm so sorry! I never though… Oh, God!"_

_"Sam?" Danny said, confused at her behavior, "What…?" That's when his eyes met the mirror at the other side of the lab._

_Only it wasn't his face staring back._

_"My parents will accept me whoever I am." Danny told Vlad firmly as he glared at him, his green eyes full of confidence he didn't actually possess while facing down this new, powerful foe in his father's body, "But, if I expose you... well, what would my mom think of you?" Vlad looked shocked and a little pained at this revelation, and Danny felt a flash of triumph. As he lowered the other half ghost to the ground, "You'll be miserable and alone for the rest of your life, unless you agree to a truce."_

_  
"Using your opponent's weaknesses against him!" Vlad said with a dark smirk, "I have been teaching you something after all. Very well, truce. But in time, you will join me. You and your mother. But for now..." he cleared his throat pointedly, flying into the air, "CURSE YOU JACK FENTON! Your world-renowned expertise of all things ghosts has defeated me!" Then, for Danny's ears alone, he added, "Until next time… son,"_

'We'll see about that, Vlad,'_ Danny thought with a glare as he watch the billionaire melt away in front of him before leaving his dad's body…_

_"Danny, I know you think I'm pushy, and I'm a know-it-all." Jazz said as she smiled down at her brother gently, "I know you think I can be a jerk sometimes…" Danny smiled pointedly, enjoying this game, "You know, you can stop me at any time." Jazz reminded her younger sibling._

_  
"I know." he said, the smile never fading. Jazz sighed in exasperation._

_"The point is," She said, sounding a little annoyed before the warmth came back to her voice, "I really care about you, Danny, and you can talk to me about ANYTHING."_

'…Anything?'_ Danny thought, uncertainty making him falter. He wanted her to know… wanted everyone to know so badly… but fear of being treated like a freak made him stop. He didn't want to lose everything he fought for because of the powers that gave him the ability to fight for them…_

_"Well…" He started, working up his courage, "…I…"_

'BOOM!'

_Turning, both of the Fenton children found their parents in the living room with their new invention, the Fenton Peeler._

_"I'm just saying, if we could find that ghost in Jazz's school, we could shred it to pieces!" Jack Fenton proclaimed loudly._

_"Well we don't want to completely vaporize it," Maddie said, frowning slightly. "Don't you at least want to study the remains?" Danny felt his stomach churn at that, and looked down at the hand Jazz had on his shoulder._

_"I don't want to talk about it," Danny said, pushing her away and walking away, crossing his arms._

_"Yeah," Jazz said, her voice kind and gentle. Almost as if she already knew… "I'd imagine not." Then, Before Danny could react, Jazz came up and kissed him gently on the forehead before leaving. Danny smiled slightly as he watched her go._

'You know, there are times she really isn't that bad…' _He thought to himself before what had just transpired fully hit him. When it did, though…_

_"…Oh, gross!"_

_"Danny." The teenage felt his stomach lurch at the pale look on his mothers face. Even his father looked uncharacteristically grim-face._

_"Mom, Dad," He said. Words tumbled out before he could stop them, "How are Sam and Tucker? They're okay, aren't they?" The motionless forms of his best friends haunted him every time he closed his eyes, making the half ghost a nervous wreak._

_"Danny," Maddie said, her tone shaky and her voice cracking in an attempt to hold back tears. "You need to leave. Go home, take all of your things that you can carry and go and never come back."_

_"What?" Danny said, frowning in confusion. "I don't…?" Maddie threw a packet of papers onto his lap. Danny couldn't understand the medical terms, but the red circles on the papers made his heart pound painfully in his chest._

_"We ran the tests ten times now." Maddie said softly. "And it always comes back the same."_

'They know,' _Danny thought, his mouth going painfully dry. _'They know and they don't want me…' _This had to be a nightmare. Soon he'd wake up and find himself back in his bed, with parents what still loved him, and his best friends safe and sound…_

_"Mom… Dad…" The plea was obvious in Danny's tone. Jack looked away, not meeting his eyes when his son looked to him for help. Maddie's expression remained carefully masked, never flinching away from Danny's piercing blue eyes._

_"Just go Danny," She said quietly, turning and leaving. Jack followed her, faltering at the door then turning back to Danny looking as if there was something he wanted to add before his shoulders sagged in defeat and he followed his wife out the door._

_Still in shock that this was really happening to him, Danny felt tear pricking at the corners of his eyes and the next thing he knew, he was flying through the air as a ghost, his speed so neck breaking, it took even his breath away and one thought running through his head like a broken record…_

'Why…?'

"Me? Not like other people?" Danny repeated out loud, standing. What gave you that idea?" And, without another word to the surprised Trish, Danny left, a familiar chill running through him as he exited the Nasty Burger.

_'Ghost time, huh?'_ Danny mused darkly, _'I could use a work out, I guess…'_

* * *

**WoM- _I was ready to cry when I wrote that. How pathetic is that? Anywho, Next chapter is the first meeting between Valerie and Danny. I'm pretty sure we all know how it's gonna end up, but still… Oh, and don't start hating Jack and Maddie on me! It's not what you think! Terrance, on the other hand, you can hate all you want. As a woman, I despise any man who makes ANY sort of weight comments… (And I'm not even anywhere near being overweight.)_**

* * *

**Thanks to;**

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* * *

**Next update; **_February 19th_

_**See you then!**_


	4. Clashing

**WoM- _Hello all!_ 'grins brightly,' _I figure I filled my angst quota for the next month with Cold, so I'm gonna try and lift some spirits here and make this chapter a little more funny. I can't do angst_ (Or any one specific category) _for too long, or I'll lose whatever little sanity I still have to claim, and I figure this one's been depressing enough so far so… _'shrugs.'**

* * *

_(Panel shows Calvin sitting at a booth reading 'A swift kick in the butt; $1.00)_

**Hobbes-** How's business?

**Calvin-** Terrible.

**Hobbes-** _(rolling his eyes)_ That's hard to believe.

**Calvin-** I can't understand it. Everybody I know needs what I'm selling!

_(**Calvin and Hobbes**, by Bill Watterson)_

* * *

**Clashing**

"On come on!" Ember snapped irritably, "Does it really take that long to fill a bag with money?"

"Petty thievery?" Danny snorted as he floated in through the wall. "Wow, you've really fallen from a wannabe pop star, haven't you, Ember?" The ghost scowled at the unwelcome interruption.

"Well, well, well…" She sneered, "If it isn't the dipstick. What dragged you out here? Mommy and Daddy didn't want you anymore?" The female shot screamed in a mixture of pain and surprise as a powerful blast hit her almost before she finished talking.

"Oops," Danny said, glaring at the ghost with icy green eyes, "Sorry. My bad," Ember glowered at Danny as she got back to her feet.

"Oh, you'll pay for that, dipstick," She hissed.

"Ready when you are, Pop Princess," Danny shot back, charged for the fight.

Before either of them could make a move, though, the doors burst open and two hazmat-garbed hunters stormed in. Danny blinked at them in surprise before groaning to himself.

_'Aw, hell…'_ He thought sourly, _'I should've known Vlad had agents here…'_ He studied them for a second before dismissing them as minor threats at best. They were clearly newer recruits, probably out on their first hunt. _'These can't be the hunter Clockwork warned me about,'_

"Don't move!" The male ghost hunter ordered, aiming an ecto-gun at Danny, "try and attack us and it'll only make it harder for yourselves, ghosts!"

"Look, we're kinda busy here," Danny snapped back, impatient now that he saw exactly how new these two hunters (Who weren't any older then him) were at their job, "Mind rescheduling this little meeting?"

"We don't take orders from ghosts," The female snapped. Danny sighed.

"Suit yourself…" he said, shrugging. Shooting a sticky, gooey ectoplasm out of his hand, Danny trapped both hunters in the glue-like substance, ignoring their exclamations of surprise and protest.

Unfortunately, while he did this he had to take his attention off Ember, who was never known for fighting fair. She took advantage of his distraction to blast him hard in the side, sending him crashing to the earth.

_'She's in a bad mood,'_ Danny realized shaking the hit off before smirking darkly at the undead singer, _'guess it's a good thing I am too…'_

Shooting back into the air, Danny punched Ember as hard as he could, evading one of her destructive notes to blast her on her way down.

"You're dead, punk!" Ember snarled, sticking at her guitar furiously.

"After you!" Danny shot back, throwing up a shield to bounce the attack back at the singer, who dodged so it hit the wall instead. "Or am I a little late for that one?" Ember scowled heatedly at the half ghost.

One of the first things Danny had learned about ghosts was that they hated being reminded of their non-living status in the world, and he wasn't afraid to use that at times like these.

"Hey, at least I know what I am, dipstick!" Ember snapped back, her anger clear in her tone as she blasted Danny through the wall of the bank and out to the streets, away from prying ears. "What are you, huh? Ghost or Human?"

"Why pick just one?" Danny asked with a scowl. Ember smirked, apparently pleased with that response.

"See?" She said smugly, "You don't even know where you fit in this world! One or the other, kid, or else neither will ever accept you!"

"You think that's all I care about?" Danny growled, glaring at her. "Fitting in?"

"I think it means more to you then you let on," Ember said smugly.

"We'll see about that," And with that, Danny disappeared into the wall behind him, coming up behind Ember to hit her from behind. "I don't care what you think of me. I'm through trying to get other people to like me when they've already decided they won't. Right now, I'm just doing what I know is right, not what you guys think I should do."

"How noble," A new voice sneered, making Danny and Ember jump. "Want me to put that on your gravestone?"

Both ghosts turned to see what the new interruption was, their eyes widening at the sight of the dark-looking ghost hunter on a sleek black jet sled currently aiming one of the biggest ecto-guns either of them had ever seen right between Danny's eyes.

_'Okay,'_ Danny thought grimly as he turned to face this new threat, _'THIS one may be trouble…'_

* * *

_'This is really Phantom?'_ Valerie thought, vaguely disappointed. He seemed even smaller in life then he was in his pictures, a skinny kid with bright eyes that seemed to carry a heavy burden. _'Why the heck does Mr. Masters think this one ghost is so threatening?'_

"Don't you ghost hunters ever take a break?" Ember snapped, glaring at Valerie, "We're busy here, so take that stupid gun and shove it up your-!"

Before the singer could finish what would no doubt have been a very rude statement, Valerie had already taken said 'stupid gun,' off of Phantom to take aim at her, blasting her in a flash of pink energy that made the ghost disappear.

"Nice aim," Danny observed casually, eyeing the ghost hunter warily, "You're not like those newbies, huh?" Valerie was a little proud that the ghost had noticed this.

"You got that right," She said, aiming at him again, "And you're about to join your little friend in Mr. Master's Lab!" Valerie fired three shots, all of which Danny dodged with speed Valerie could just barely follow.

The next thing the hunter knew, her gun had been blasted out of her hand by a thin stream of green energy, falling to the ground where it exploded in a mess of metal, plastic and circuitry.

"Ember's not my friend," Danny said as he hovered in front of Valerie, his arms crossed in a casual pose, "And just because you're better then them doesn't mean you can beat me," Valerie scowled.

_'Okay,'_ She thought sullenly, _'Maybe he's a LITTLE tougher then he looks… but just a little!'_

"And what makes you think I can't, huh?" Valerie challenged as she shot forward, "I've beaten hundreds of ghosts before you, and you're no different then any of the others!"

"I beg to differ," Danny said dryly, a little amused at the irony. After all, it was unlikely a ghost could get much different then Danny was…

_'Best not tell her that, though,'_ Danny decided.

He had a sinking suspicion that this was the hunter Clockwork had warned him about, but he couldn't figure out why the Master of Time thought he would ever let her beat him. After all, she was no different then any other ghost hunter…

_'They don't care about anything but catching ghosts,'_ Danny reminded himself, his eyes growing cold as he glared as Valerie. _'Not even things that should be more important.'_

"I'm only giving you one warning, Hunter," Danny called out to his opponent, "I'm not in a good mood right now, and the whole ghost hunter attitude get on my nerves, so if you really want to fight, there's no way you're walking away without some bruises,"

"Maybe," Valerie said casually, reaching for another gun Danny couldn't see, "But at least I'm walking away the winner."

Then, without giving him any warning, Valerie pulled the gun out, firing at the ghost and catching him completely off guard. Danny was hit by the blast and went flying through a wall, going intangible last minute to avoid making himself vulnerable to a second blast.

Valerie shot after him, conjuring up her three energy-blasters as she did so. Shooting a hole into the wall, she charged through to scan for the ghost she was hunting, scowling when she didn't find him.

_'He must've snuck off…'_ She realized sourly, _'Now I've gotta deal with Terrance getting all smug on me for letting him get away…'_ Blowing out a sigh of irritation, Valerie landed and switched back to her street clothes, walking out of the alley to walk to the apartment so she could figure out what to do.

**_'WHAM!'_**

Yelping in pain, Valerie grabbed her forehead where she'd collided with someone else, looking across from her to glower at the boy she'd knocked into as he was coming around the other corner.

He was a pale boy, wearing a white shirt with red accents and blue jeans, both a little oversized for him. Semi-long, messy black hair fell into his baby blue eyes, and a look of irritation was clear on his face as he glared right back at Valerie.

"Watch where you're going, punk!" The ghost hunter growled as she got back to her feet.

"Why don't you watch it, creep?" The boy snapped back as he did the same. They glared at each other a moment longer before brushing past one another to go their separate ways.

_'Man,'_ Valerie thought darkly to herself, _'What the heck it that guy's problem…?'_

* * *

_'What was her problem?'_ Danny thought sullenly as he walked of. He sighed. It was no big deal, he supposed. After all, it wasn't like he's see the girl again…

Brushing the rude encounter aside, Danny turned his thoughts to the ghost hunter he'd just finished fighting. She was definitely a level up from the other ghost hunters Vlad had sent after him, which suggested that the billionaire knew he was here.

That didn't surprise Danny, though. He just needed to figure out how to stay under the other half ghost's radar long enough to figure things out.

_'He probably still thinks I'm just randomly running from place to place,'_ Danny decided, _'So the orphanages and schools are still pretty safe for me… now I just need to figure out a good place to hide when he finds out where I am.'_ Danny scowled as he thought about his.

He hated running away from anything. Ever since he'd become half ghost, he'd gotten into the habit of fighting for everything, no matter what the enemy was. It seemed cowardly to him to just keep charging forward like he was, barely a step ahead of Plasmius as he tried to keep himself alive, keep himself human…

"Danny?"

The half ghost turned at the familiar voice, raising an eyebrow at Morgan's surprised look as she approached him, a black messenger bag slung over her shoulder. The girl noticed him looking at it and scowled, hiding it from sight.

"What are you doing here?" She asked suspiciously, studying Danny warily.

"Just walking around," Danny answered honestly, "You?"

"Nothing," Morgan answered instantly, "what makes you think I'm doing anything?"

"Because when someone's acting weird, it's usually for a good reason," Danny pointed out to her with a knowing look.

"You don't know me," Morgan reminded him, looking annoyed. "How would you know if I'm acting weird or not?" Danny snorted in doubt, but decided to drop the subject.

"You share a room with Trish, right?" Danny asked Morgan, deciding that was neutral ground.

"Yeah," Morgan said, rolling her eyes, "And you share a room with Dash and Lenny. What's your point?"

"Has she been talking about me?" Danny asked. As Morgan raised an eyebrow at him, he decided to clarify himself a little more, "She's been following me around a lot recently, and I just want to see if she's telling anyone anything."

"Trish and I don't talk," Morgan said, sounding faintly annoyed, "We just share a room. I wouldn't know if she's been talking about you. I wouldn't worry about it, though. You're lucky if you can get Trish to respond to anything you say at all, let along get her to willingly start a conversation with you. You should be a lot more worried about the fact that a certified psychopath is following your every move,"

"Trish doesn't scare me," Danny said shortly. "And I think you're being a little hard on her. She's spoken to me, and see seems a lot more sane then most people I've met,"

_'Then again, taking into account exactly what kind of people I know, that's really not saying much,'_ Danny pointed out dryly in his head.

"Oh?" Morgan said, eyeing him curiously, 'And who's the craziest guy you've ever met, huh?"

"The one who's trying to convince me to help him kill my dad, marry my mom and take over the world," Danny answered. Morgan rolled her eyes, thinking he was being sarcastic.

"Fine," she said curtly, "Be that way."

Danny watched her storm off, not feeling too sorry about getting her angry. He didn't care what Morgan, or anyone else for that matter, thought of him. Maybe he would've at another point in time, but right now surviving to see tomorrow was his biggest worry. After that, everything else didn't seem that important…

* * *

"So, you lost him, huh?" Terrance said smugly, crossing his arms as he smirked at Valerie, who glared back.

"So what?" Valerie snapped, "At least I showed up!"

"She's got a point there, Terrance," Tara said, amusement clear in her voice. Terrance glared at her sourly before turning back to Valerie.

"I was expecting better from Mr. Master's pet hunter," He said coolly. Valerie growled.

"Call me that again and we're gonna see how far an ecto-gun can be shoved down your throat," Valerie warned, standing up and storming away.

Between the disastrous first meeting with Phantom and the rude encounter with that boy afterwards, the ghost huntress wasn't in the best of moods right now. Combine that with the fact that she had to look forward to starting up high school soon…

_'I just can't catch a break anywhere, can I?'_ Valerie thought sourly to herself as she fell onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

She'd been to high school before undercover, and quickly developed a distaste for it. In her mind, there was nothing worse then shoving a bunch of so-called 'normal' idiots in the same building for seven hours a day, five days a week under the supervision of teachers who couldn't control them.

_'Whoever came up with that idea needs to be shot,'_ Valerie thought sullenly, _'Repeatedly,'_ Then she sighed softly to herself, _'Ah well… this will all be worth it when I bring Phantom down once and for all…'_

* * *

**WoM- _Urk… I tried to put a little humor in, but it really doesn't work at this point. 'Sweatdrops' Ah, well. At least it's not so angsty…_**

* * *

**Thanks to;**

epobbp, IwuvMyKenshyPoo, Firefury, Tetsukon, Moss Royal, Petitio Principii, KatieKumquat, conan98002, Lumias, The Great Susinko, Lunaqua, Light Dragon SunsSong, Ghost Writer's Assistant, Worker72, Goofn1, Mizuki hikari

* * *

**Next update;** _February 26th_

_**See you then!**_


	5. Casper High

**WoM- 'shaking her head' _Anyone else think that Beauty Marked was just a tad bit traumatizing?_ 'laughs.' _Personally, though, I can't wait for Masters of All Time, which looks like it's gonna be a really cool episode! Vlad AND Clockwork all in one?_ 'dies from happiness,'**

* * *

**Calvin- **_(With a box in his hands)_ Today for Show and Tell, I've brought in a tiny marvel of nature: A single snowflake. I think we might all learn a lesson from how this utterly unique and exquisite crystal turns into an ordinary, boring molecule of water, just like every other one, when you bring it in the classroom. And now, while that analogy sinks in, I'll be leaving you drips and going outside. _(Throws box over his shoulder as he turns to leave)_

**Mrs. Wormwood- _CALVIN!_**

_(**Calvin and Hobbes**, by Bill Watterson)_

* * *

**Casper High**

"So this is Casper High, huh?"

Valerie eyed the three story brick building in front of her with a distasteful frown. In the driver's seat to her left, Tara laughed warmly as she stopped the car.

"This is it, alright," She confirmed, "We've got some weirdoes running around here, but nothing supernatural. "You're a freshman, right? 14 years old?"

"So what if I am?" Valerie challenged, glaring at the older girl.

"Easy!" Tara laughed, "I was just asking! We won't see each other too often, if you are."

"So I won't know anybody here?" Valerie clarified, making a face. That sounded fun…

"Well, even if we were in the same grade, our chances of being in the same class are pretty slim." Tara said sympathetically, "Mr. Masters has me enrolled in all the advanced classes, which he normally does with his agents. He went easier on you, though. He's letting you take regular classes. He says it will be easier to gather information from students there," Tara glanced at Valerie here hesitantly before continuing, "Erm… Terrance said something about you not being up to par with us academically, though…" Valerie's lips thinned when she heard that.

"I need to concentrate on catching Phantom." The girl snapped, "I don't care what Terrance- what anyone- thinks of me. I'm a professional, and professionals don't let emotions interfere with the hunt,"

"True enough," Tara nodded, "The problem is, though, you're human, too. Humans have emotions whether they want them or not, sweetie."

"I know what I have to do," Valerie said, impatience clear in her voice. "And I'll do it. Human or not, I am Mr. Master's employee first and foremost. I owe him my life, my craft… everything, and I'll give everything to repay him for everything he's done for me,"

"Really?" Tara looked at Valerie curiously at that, obviously wanting to question it further, but the knowledge that Valerie was of a higher rank gave her pause.

"Tara," Valerie said with a soft, thoughtful frown, remembering Clockwork's last warning to her, "Do you know anything about Orion?"

"The constellation?" Tara asked, raising an eyebrow

"The myth," Valerie clarified. "The one about Orion and Artemis. Someone mentioned something about it recently, and I was wondering if you knew it," Tara frowned in concentration before shaking her head in the negative.

"Sorry," She said apologetically, "My Greek's a little rusty. Terrance studied it pretty thoroughly, though. If you ask him-!"

"No," Valerie said, her tone darkening at the thought of asking Terrance for anything, "It's not important anyways. I was really just curious."

"Suit yourself," Tara unbuckled her seatbelt, "We'd better get going. We'll miss homeroom if we don't leave now, and considering you have Lancer, that's a sin is there ever was one." Valerie smiled wryly as she followed the older hunter out if the car and into the school, studying the people around her as she went.

Tara was right about the students all being pretty normal. There wasn't one that stood out to the young huntress as a threat in the least, not even the large blonde boy who was pinning the smaller, dorky-looking red head with glasses against the lockers, apparently demanding either money or homework.

It didn't take long to see that the most popular girl was the pretty Latino with the long hair dressed in pink. Valerie could tell right off the bat that she and this girl wouldn't get along, just from the smug smile the girl wore as she listened to all the cat calls.

_'She's a cocky little airhead if I ever saw one,'_ the ghost hunter thought bitterly as she paused in front of the locker she was assigned.

After absently putting in the combination, the girl tried to open the locker to find it stubbornly sealed shut. Glaring slightly and growing ever aware of the giggles around her, Valerie doubled her efforts to get the locker open with no success.

At least not until a fist came out of nowhere and slammed onto it, making it swing open quite easily much to the surprise of Valerie, who lost her balance and fell in what would've been an embarrassing start to her first day, had not someone grabbed her waist as she toppled back.

"Sorry," The boy said in a casual tone, "They gave me this locker when I first came here, too. I think it's some kind of trick they use to haze the new kid." Blinking, Valerie glanced up, frowning at the vaguely familiar face above her.

_'Where have I seen him before…?' She _wondered before shaking the thought away to glare at this stranger.

"I can take care of myself," she snapped, straightening up and putting her things away in the locker, her hunter's pride wounded slightly from having to rely on someone she didn't even know.

"You're welcome," The boy said in dry sarcasm before turning and starting off in the direction of his homeroom. Valerie's lips thinned as she watched him go, feeling a twinge of guilt at the cold treatment that always came when she was in a bad mood.

_'I never asked for his help,' _She reminded herself, brushing it aside, _'And I don't need it. He wants a damsel in distress, he should look up little Miss Perfect-In-Pink, not me.'_

Grumbling, the girl finished putting her things away and scanned her scheduled for her homeroom, seeing that Tara was right and she really did have this 'Lancer' person. He was her fourth period English teacher, too. Searching the crowd, she found a small, shy looking brunette nearby, and decided she was as good as anyone to ask.

"Hey, you," Valerie called out, approaching the girl, "Where's Mr. Lancer's room?" blushing slightly at being addressed, the girl pointed in the same direction the boy from earlier had disappeared in, making Valerie frown.

_'That can't be a good sign…'_ She thought dryly to herself before sighing heavily.

"Thanks," Valerie said dryly as she left in that direction.

_'Well, this day's turning out to be even more 'fun' then I first thought…'_

* * *

"Class, I'd like to introduce you to our newest student, Ms. Valerie Grey," Mr. Lancer announced, putting a hand on the new girl's shoulder. Danny frowned at her when he recognized the girl as the same one he'd helped out at her locker, and the one who he'd knocked into the day he'd had that fight with Ember and Hunter.

_'Oh, Greeeat,' _he thought sarcastically, _'As if my life isn't complicated enough as it is right now… well, at least I can ignore her more easily then ghost hunters and ghosts…'_

"Danny," Mr. Lancer said, drawing the boy's attention. He was the only Danny in the class, after all, and he had no last name, much to the confusion of students and staff alike. He wasn't afraid of them running him through missing persons, either.

He knew he wouldn't be there, since Jazz would be afraid of drawing attention to him, his parents didn't care if he was alive or dead and his only two friends in the world were both in comas fighting for their lives. No one else would've given his disappearance a second thought.

"Since you were our former new student, would you like to show Miss Grey around and help her settle in?" Mr. Lancer continued, unaware of the boy's thoughts.

_'Like I have a choice?'_ Danny mused dryly to himself. _'Apparently I spoke too soon… and Mr. Lancer really is out to get me.'_

"Yes, Mr. Lancer," Danny said out loud in a bored, monotone voice of someone agreeing just to get the other party to shut up. He turned his attention over to Valerie and met her scathing glare with a dark look of his own.

"Excellent," Mr. Lancer said, unconcerned with Danny's tone so long as he agreed. "Take the seat next to Danny, Miss Grey. Then we can discuss our newest Homeroom Assignment,"

"Huh?" Valerie asked, raising an eyebrow at the teacher.

"Danny will explain everything to you as I pass out the overview, Valerie," Mr. Lancer said absently, leafing through some papers he pulled out of his desk. An irritated look passed Valerie face as she reluctantly made her way over to the free seat on Danny's right.

'Why him of all people?' She thought sourly, glaring at the pale boy next to her.

"So?" She asked coolly, "What the heck's Homeroom Assignment?"

"Week-long projects we get stuck with first thing in the morning," Danny answered with a sigh. "We're teamed up into pairs for them, and sometimes pairs are teamed up with another pair for a group of four. Our partners are assigned and unless one of them croaks or moves, they're our partner until the end of the year." Valerie frowned at that, her stomach dropping in dread.

"Any who's my partner?" She asked suspiciously, though she suspected she already knew the answer.

"Well, when I came here, everyone else was paired up already so I had to do my homework in here," Danny explained dryly. "Now, though…"

"Valerie, Danny, you two will be working together," Mr. Lancer said, putting a packet of papers on Danny's desk. He frowned at them sternly when they both scowled at that, "I trust there will be no problems with this…?"

"No, Mr. Lancer," Danny said in the same monotone voice as before.

"Good," Mr. Lancer said, turning to leave, "Then I expect to find an exceptional project from you two on my desk this Friday." Valerie glared at the back of the teacher's bald head before turning back to Danny.

"So?" She asked shortly, "What do we have to do?" Danny frowned at her before turning to read the assignment and groaning loudly.

"Great…" He said sarcastically, at Valerie's questioning glance, he picked the paper up again and recited. "You're assignment is to create a creative video report on something you and your partner have in common," Valerie gaped at the boy at that.

"What?" She asked, taking the paper from him. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"I assure you, Miss Grey, no one is 'kidding' you." Mr. Lancer said dryly. "And you cannot graduate without credit in this class, by the way." Valerie scowled at the teacher at that.

_'What a load of-!'_

"Class dismissed," Mr. Lancer said just as the bell rang, "And don't forget this is all due Friday!"

_'Perfect,'_ Danny thought dryly. 'I've got a ghost hunter on my tail, I'm separated from everyone I ever cared about, and I've been forced to do a project with a temperamental new girl. What's next?' Just then, a familiar chill went through Danny and a loud crashing noise was heard from the science lab, followed by screaming. Danny's sour mood grew even darker, '…Why do I even bother asking anymore?'

Glancing around and not finding anyone in sight, Danny ducked into a closet to Go Ghost, phasing through the wall when he finished and flying over to the classroom he'd sensed the ghost in, his ever-present Fenton Thermos in his hand.

* * *

Going through the wall, Danny found that the ghost of a giant frog had Paulina, the most popular freshman girl in Casper High, pinned against the wall, screaming her head off in the otherwise abandoned room.

"How much you wanna bet that the ghost of some dissection or something?" Danny asked himself dryly before shooting an ectoblast at the frog, flying down to shield the wide-eyed Paulina from the ghost. "Stay behind me!" He called to her, never taking his eyes of the ghost with was starting to recover.

"R-Right," Paulina responded, her face pale as she gaped at the giant ghost. Summoning the power he'd gotten the last time he's tried to talk to the girl (As Danny) the half ghost blew hard at the frog as he jumped for them, freezing him in an encasement of green ice in mid air.

"Cool…" Danny muttered, impressed with the potency of the new power. Taking out his thermos, he sucked the frog ghost up, making a mental note to find a portal to release him into. There had to be one somewhere in Amity, though it was likely a natural one.

With this business done, the ghost boy turned back to Paulina, and he suddenly felt very awkward again, which was always the case around pretty girls.

"Ah, are you okay?" He asked, shoving the thermos back into its halter. Paulina blinked back at him.

"You saved my life…" She said, awe clear in her voice. Danny blushed, taking the girl's hand to help her up.

"It was nothing," He told her as he got to his feel. "Anyone could've-!"

He didn't get to finished his sentence when something hit him hard in the side, sending him flying through a wall which imploded as the force followed him until he hit the second wall, tangible this time.

"Surprise, surprise!" The red hunter said dryly as she aimed her ecto-gun at him. "Miss me, ghost-boy?"

"Like a hole in the head," Danny snapped back, irritated at her timing.

'Man, don't these guys have LIVES?' he thought angrily, 'How the heck did she find me in school, anyways?'

"I can arrange that," The ghost hunter said, aiming at her prey with a gun that whirled with charging gears. Startled and cornered, the ghost only had time for one more thought as a bright flash of pink light burst from the girl's weapon.

_'Aw, Hell…'_

* * *

**WoM- _WHAA!_! 'running around like a chicken with her head cut off,' _So much to do, so little time! _'crying,' _Urg… See, this is why I hate being forced to attend school…_**

* * *

**Thanks to;**

IwuvMyKenshyPoo, epobbp, Moss Royal, Anne Camp aka Obi-quiet, Tetsukon, SummersSixEcho, conan98002, Lunaqua, Gmasangel, Ghost Writer's Assistant, animegurl088, DP-shrine-in-closet-girl, Blue Curtains, spaceman spiff, Worker72, Lumias, The Great Susinko, Light Dragon SunsSong, snowbell101

* * *

**Next update;** _March 5th_

_**See you then!**_


	6. Butting Heads

**WoM- _So many updates today! The library lady at school probably thinks I'm going insane or something, especially with the way I more or less ran down there to get a computer… Anywho, sorry I didn't get this up yesterday, but if you haven't heard by now, I'm having some problems at home with my dad and the computer is now off limits, which isn't a problem during the week since I have school, but on the weekend?_ 'makes a face' _At any rate, he should calm down before the week's out and if he doesn't mom will make him_ (Or at least sneak me on behind his back, like she did today…)**

* * *

**Moe- **Hey Calvin, guess what we're doing in gym today. We're wrestling! Next period you'll be so covered with mat burns you'll need skin grafts! Ha ha ha! See ya then, Twinky.

**Calvin-** _'Sighhhhh…'_ Physical Education is what you learn from having your face in someone's armpit right before lunch.

_(**Calvin and Hobbes**, by Bill Watterson)_

* * *

**Butting Heads**

_'I can't believe how low this jerk is!' _Valerie thought sullenly as she fired at the ghost, hitting time before he had time to react. _'I mean, yeah ghosts can be pretty bad, but attacking a girl at school for no reason whatsoever?'_ Or maybe there was a reason? Maybe he was here to draw her out for a rematch, an attempt to toy with her as ghosts liked to do.

That thought alone made Valerie even angrier with her opponent.

_'I'll show him who he's messing with!'_

"You're not getting away this time, Ghost boy!" Valerie growled out, drilling a whole through the wall as she chased after her prey, "Get out here and face me you coward!"

"Hey!" Phantom said from directly behind Valerie, making the ghost hunter jump about a foot. Before she had time to react, though, the ghost that grabbed both her wrists and enveloped her in a Bear Hug from behind, unyielding to the girl's struggles to free herself. "I resent that! I'm not the one wearing a mask."

"You think I'm wearing this because I'm scared of you?" Valerie snarled out, twisting around to glare into the boy's intense green eyes, filled with amusement and a little bit of something else.

"You're scared of something if you're hiding," Phantom told her pointedly. "You can't even say it's for protection or something, since that means you're scared of getting hurt." Valerie growled, not able to deny this.

"What about you?" She countered instead, "You're scared of something too, if you're still here instead of wherever people go when they die!"

"How do you know I'm not right where I'm supposed to be?" Phantom asked softly. Valerie was a little startled at the ghost's tone before she glared at him again.

"Because the living and the dead aren't suppose to live side by side!" Valerie snapped, "You had your chance and lost it! And if you refuse to leave this world, I'm just gonna have to make you!"

"And you think I'm just gonna sit and let that happen?" Phantom asked, disgust clear in his voice, "Man, all you ghost hunters really are the same…" Valerie stiffened at what seemed to be a hint into an insult.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She demanded heatedly of the ghost. She was startled when his eyes took on an icy quality.

"I mean," He hissed, obviously very passionate about this particular subject, "That you're all petty, obsessive freaks who don't care about anything except your job! You never actually ask if the ghosts deserve to be destroyed, you never give a ghost a chance to prove themselves at anything but the menace you've already decided they are!"

"That's because ghosts ARE only menaces!" Valerie yelled back. She barely noticed that Phantom's grip on her wrists had slipped. It wasn't about the physical fight anymore, this had become a heated verbal debate instead. "Ghosts are nothing but selfish spirits who were too weak to survive, so they get bitter and take it out on the living!"

"What do you know about ghosts?" Phantom demanded angrily, "When have you ever had a conversation with them, huh? Never, I'm guessing. You're just a lousy hypocrite who's trying to blame the ghosts for everything that's happened to you!"

"That's because ghosts ruined my life!" Valerie screeched back, ripping her arms free to twirl around and glare at the ghost, "It was a ghost that killed my father and left me an orphan! If it wasn't for Mr. Masters, I'd be as dead as him right now! And you? You can't tell me that a ghost hunter ruined you life! You're already dead, you creep!"

"How do you know they didn't?" Phantom snapped back, anger written clearly on his face, "You don't know me! You don't know what my life was like, who my family was, how I got like this! You think you're the only orphan here? At least your dad didn't _abandon_ you when you needed them most like my parents did! And why? Because of their stupid job!"

There was a long, stunned silence after that as both of the confessions, all the information just thrusted into the open by nothing more then wild anger, began to sink into their heads.

"…Well this is awkward," Phantom broke the silence at last, clearly shaken with what he'd both heard and said.

"It doesn't change anything," Valerie said, making her own shock with an icy tone. "It just gives us another reason to fight; to prove who's right and who's wrong."

"Who says we can't both be right?" Phantom asked in a tired sort of voice.

"So what, now you're saying ghosts are bad, too?" Valerie asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms. "Whose side are you on?"

"I'm not on anyone's side," Phantom said, sounding faintly annoyed, "I'm just trying to stay alive,"

"Well here's a news flash for you, ghost boy," Valerie snapped, raising her ecto-gun again, "You're already dead."

She fired off an ecto-net, grounding the ghost so she could take aim at him again. She met his angry scowl with a glare of her own.

"I don't want to do this," Phantom called out to her abruptly, almost startling the right.

"Do what?" Valerie sneered, "You're caught, ghost boy!" Phantom sighed.

"Don't say I didn't warn you…" He muttered dryly to himself. And then, before Valerie could make any move to stop him, Phantom made the most intense sound Valerie had ever heard. A low, reverberating wailing noise what seemed to reach to the core of the ghost hunter's being and shake up everything inside of her.

Valerie honestly wasn't sure if she should cover her ears or cling to her jet sled for dear life as the horrible sound started confusing her mentally as well as upsetting her usually superb balance.

In the end, though, she hugged her jet sled, adding her scream to Phantoms as the advanced piece of weaponry shorted out and plummeted to the classroom floor, throwing the girl as it crashed.

After the wailing finally stopped, Valerie groaned and sat up, gasping at what she saw around her.

The classroom was in shambles now, thanks to Phantom's attack. Desks, tables, chairs were all in ruins, and a large, gaping whole spilled into the outside world, where Valerie could also see an upturned tree and a few cars in the parking lot that had been rolled over in the force of the wailing attack.

Glancing around again, Valerie scowled when she realized that Phantom had taken off on her. Grumbling to herself, Valerie deactivated her hunting gear and headed for the door.

_'Well this is just perfect,'_ She thought sullenly, _'Uh! First I'm paired up with a creep for my class and then Phantom gets away again! Can this day get any worse?'_

Just then, the door opened and Mr. Lancer stopped abruptly, gaping at the mess in front of him before his eyes narrowed on Valerie, who found herself rooted to the spot.

"Miss Grey," Mr. Lancer said, obviously trying to contain his temper, "What on earth is the meaning for this mess?"

_'…I never should've asked.'_

* * *

"Well, that's enough ghost-based fun for a while…" Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he left the boy's bathroom. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the entire 'popular' entourage gathered outside the doors to the nurses office, looking pretty anxious.

"What's up with them?" He asked a passing student, knowing the kid wouldn't pass up the chance to gossip.

"Didn't you hear?" The boy asked, "Paulina got hurt when some mutant frog attacked Poluka's room. She's alright, but she keeps going on about how some floating kid with white hair saved her. The way she's talking, you'd think the kid was some kind of superhero or something…"

Then, after shaking his head and laughing at his own joke, the boy walked off to go to his next class, never seeing the look on Danny's face.

_'Now that's just bittersweet.'_ He thought dryly to himself. _'I mean, she won't give me the time of day, but she's fallen head over heels for Phantom? After only seeing him one time?'_

"Alright, kids, get to class," the nurse said loudly as she left the room to shoo the popular kids away. "Miss Sanchez will be back in class in about twenty minutes." A little reluctant, Danny started away for his gym class, bumping into someone as he went.

"Sorry," Danny apologized automatically before he jerked back in surprise when he saw Trish standing there. A little annoyed, he found himself asking; "Do you always pop out of nowhere?"

Trish blushed a little at the question, and Danny sighed as a stab of guilt ran through him. Bending down, her picked up the girl's fallen books, handing them back to her.

"Thank you," Trish muttered as she took them, Danny shrugged and started away, mentally groaning when he noticed Trish following him.

"Alright…" He started with a defeated sighed, "What do you want?" Trish hesitated.

"I… what are you?" Danny blinked at the girl.

"What do you mean?" He asked carefully, not wanting to give himself away.

"I want to know what you are," Trish repeated, her blush darkening, "I mean… you can't be human, can you? Not with the way you know things about… about _them_…" Danny closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to control his anger.

"You think I'm not human because I know about demons?" Danny asked coldly, glaring at the girls. She winced in guilt, but before she could stop him, the blue-eyed boy continued, "Any human could know about demons if they just took the time to take their heads out of the clouds and look around them for a second! I mean I knew a pair of demonologists who made a living off of knowing this junk!"

"Demonologists?" Trish repeated, her eyes wide.

"Yeah," Danny sighed. "They were friends with my…" Parents. "…Never mind. I've gotta go."

"Danny, wait!" Trish said, startling them both when she grabbed the boy's arm to stop him. She let go at once, as if the skin-to-skin contact burned her, blushing profusely. "S-Sorry…" taking a deep breath, Trish looked down at the floor, a slight blush still staining her cheeks. "Do you think… maybe… that we can talk together again at lunch today? You don't have to, but I… w-well," A little confused at her very, very obvious discomfort, Danny raised an eyebrow at her, making her blush darken yet again.

After stopping to think about it, though, Danny realized that it probably would be a good idea to meet with the girl in private and tell her what he knew about what she was up against, what had killed her family…

"Sure," Danny said, smiling a little at the girl's shocked look, "Meet me at the picnic table under the tree outside, okay?"

"O-okay!" Trish responded, grinning shyly before darting away. Danny blinked after her, a little startled by that reaction.

_'What the heck was that about…?'_

* * *

"Fenton!" Mrs. Testlaff barked, glowering at her student as he stumbled into the gym. "You're late!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Testlaff," Danny panted, running a hand through his hair nervously to check and make just he'd gotten out all the ecto-goo from his hair, once again cursing the timing of the ecto-puss he'd encountered on his way to class.

_'Five seconds earlier and I could've made it, too!'_ Danny thought darkly, making a mental note to make sure this ghost didn't have the most comfortable trip back to his own dimension.

"Well, we're running laps today," Testlaff grunted out as she scowled at her young student, "So you're gonna have to pair up wit the new girl!" Danny's stomach dropped as he noticed Valerie scowling at him from where she stood next to the large woman.

_'Of course…'_ Danny said dryly to himself.

"Get moving!" Mrs. Testlaff ordered shoving them onto the path where they started off in a simple jog around the tracks.

"What's her problem?" Valerie asked irritably as she jogged.

"No one knows for sure, but we think it's all the steroids she took back in her body-building days." Danny answered absently, making Valerie bite her lip to refrain from laughing.

She certainly needed a laugh. While she hadn't gotten in trouble for the mess in the classroom, she was now pretty sure she'd earned Mr. Lancer's suspicions, and worse yet, the ghost boy seemed to have disappeared entirely again.

_'I don't get it…'_ She thought, frowning, 'Why can't I track him like any other ghost…?'

"And what was your deal, huh?" Valerie asked. Danny looked faintly offended at that.

"You think I have a problem?" He asked, sounding upset.

"I meant why were you late for class," Valerie clarified, glaring back into those blue eyes. "No reason to get so uppity, pal!" Instead of continuing the fight, as Valerie expected the boy to do, he sighed softly, looking a little downcast.

"Sorry," He apologized, "It's just that I've had a lot on my mind lately…" Valerie's glare softened at that, and she studied the boy curiously as they continued to jog in silence.

He was actually kind of cute, with his long, messy black hair and the bright blue eyes that contradicted his pale completion. He was just slightly taller then Valerie's five foot four, two or three inches more, if the ghost hunter had to wager a guess. There was something familiar about him, though Valerie couldn't put her finger on it. Almost like she'd met him before…

_'Why do the cute ones have to be jerks, anyways?'_ Valerie wondered to herself, _'Either that or they have girlfriends…'_

"Are you dating someone?" Valerie blurted out before she realized what she was doing, freezing once the question left her lips. Danny stumbled slightly as he jerked around to gape at Valerie, making her blush. "Look, I'm not interested, okay?" She snapped, glaring him as if daring the boy to question that, "I was just wondering is all…"

"Why would you care then?" Danny asked, sounding a little amused. When Valerie's glare darkened, the boy sighed in defeat. "No. I'm not exactly up to par with most people popularity-wise around here. What about you? You gotta boyfriend or something?"

"I've got a job," Valerie answered, "That's all I have time for right now,"

"Workaholic, huh?" Danny laughed, "Better be careful with that. It kills more people then you'd ever know."

_'You'd be surprised.'_ Valerie thought dryly.

"And you?" Valerie asked, "If you don't have a girlfriend, what do you do with all your free time?" A strange look passed Danny's face at that as his smile fell away.

"…I'm looking for something," he answered at last.

"And that would be…?" Valerie asked, raising an eyebrow. Danny was quiet for a long time, and Valerie figured he wasn't going to answer when she finally hear his reply…

"Freedom," Danny told her softly, "I just wanna be free…" Valerie blinked at the vague answer.

"Free of what?" She asked, confused. Danny's grin returned, but it seemed to be missing something.

"Figure it out for yourself," He replied before speeding up his pace…

* * *

**WoM- 'dizzy,' _I think I've finally caught up with everything… Erk! Now I just hope I can get more time to get everything finished before I collapse…_ 'flops over in a dead sleep.'**

* * *

**Thanks to;**

Light Dragon SunsSong, Ghost Writer's Assistant, SummersSixEcho, snowbell101, Moss Royal, epobbp, The Great Susinko, conan98002, Rakahn, Lumias, Petitio Principii, Lunaqua, Worker72, plastic curtains

* * *

**Next update;** _March 12th_

_**See you then!**_


	7. IMPORTANT!

I'm sure most of you have already heard the sad news, but if not I'm here to tell you now; Recently my friend RoyaleRockerella, known better as Lateraina Wolf over on got into a serious car accident with her bandmembers.

Two of her friends died on impact, one died in the hospital the next day and another is in a coma. Lateraina herself is fine physically, but emotionally she's going to need some serious time to recover.

I'm not going to pretend I know what she's going through, as I have been fortunate enough to have never lost someone close to me due to death before, let alone three of my friends at once, but I do understand why she'd ask people to understand her lack of updates, and hope that you guys would be considerate enough to think about her feelings right now before you give her a hard time about her stories.

Speaking to Lateraina over the phone, I know how much her band meant to her, and I realize what a hard time she has to be going through right now. I'm not a religious person myself, but if you are, please remember Lateraina in your prayers and even if your not try to be as compassionate as possible, merely due to the fact that she's a friend who needs our help.

I'm going to be starting a get well giftart immediately to give Lateraina, to let her know that I'm here for her, and I ask everyone out there, whether you've read her stories or not, to join me. Lateraina needs out support, people, this is what being a friend is about.

I'll be posting somehting on all my stories as well, because she asked her sister to tell me to get the new out about why she wasn't updating. Everything considered, I feel this is the least I can do for her right now.


End file.
